How understanding psychology can improve your life

Wouldn’t you like to be able to read minds; to know what people are thinking. Psychology is about what goes on in the human mind and that is reflected in people’s behaviour. We think about doing something and then we do it and so thought determines behaviour. Some behaviour we don’t much think about though, we just do it without thinking. If we were brought up to behave in a certain way and to have certain beliefs, they will stay with us into adulthood.

Understanding how nature and nurture affects people’s behaviour can help you understand what they are thinking or at least how their minds work when they do think before they act. When their behaviour is annoying, it can help you understand it better. They might have always behaved like that, because that was how they were taught to behave as children. The spoilt child, for example, might grow up to behave like a spoilt child as an adult. The child taught to play nice and share, will grow up to become a more sociable adult. Understanding people’s behaviour can help you control your temper when they are behaving in a way that you find unacceptable or stupid.

Behaviour is determined by the way we think and what we believe. It a guy treats women badly, what does that tell you about his beliefs and thoughts? If someone appears overly nice, what does that say about the person? Could they be behaving that way because they are hiding some dark secret. People do exaggerate behaviour when they have something to hide. Watch the overly innocent behaviour of a child when they have done something wrong and have yet to be found out.

Our behaviour also reflects our fears and anxieties. We might avoid social events because of a social phobia, but people might assume that we avoid going to social events because we are snobbish or antisocial. It isn’t wise to make assumptions about people without trying to observe and listen to what they say.

Communication is important in psychology. Be silent and listen, by listening to what people say and how they say it, you can understand what they think and believe. Listen for tension in the voice that might show that they are nervous because they aren’t be truthful. Watch their mannerisms, people have tell-tale gestures that say that they are exaggerating.

If you are now wondering what other people observe about you, they probably do observe a lot more than you think. If you think clean thoughts and believe nice things, you have nothing to worry about. Right?